Gold-separator.



J. W. SWEET.

GOLD SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11. I9l3.

Patented May 2, 1916.

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GOLD SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- n, 19x3.

1 1 8 1 ,695 Patented May 2, 1916.

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THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH Cm, WASHINGTON. n. 6'

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFTCE.

JEROME W. SWEET, OF HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA.

GOLD-SEPARATOR.

Application filed November 17, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JEROME W. SWEET, a citizen of the United States, residing at Half Moon Bay, in the county of San Mateo and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gold- Separators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for treating sands and gravel, crushed ore, and similar fine material, with which is mixed gold or other precious metal; and it has for its object to produce an improved machine that will separate the metal values from the worthless material through the agency of centrifugal force.

The materials to be treated are delivered to a rapidly revolving receiving vessel, which I shall herein term the bowl, where they have imparted to them a motion of revolving; with the result that the heavier particles, which are those of value, are thrown outward where they are caught and retained,-the larger particles or nuggets in a recess formed therefor, and the finer particles by means of a removable fibrous lining applied to the inner surface of the bowl. This lining is so supported as to be easily removed when it has become clogged with material.

By means of my invention 1 am enabled to produce a simple and effective apparatus of great capacity; one that is relatively light in weight and may be moved from place to place where the work is to be performed, and may be built and operated at small cost.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a central vertical section of an apparatus embodying such invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view, on a larger scale than Fig. 1, illustrating the lower part of the bowl.

Referring to said drawings, 3 indicates a suitable framework in which is supported the apparatus. This consists of an outer stationary collecting vessel or receiver, 7, into which the waste material is delivered, and from which it may be carried off through a drain pipe 6, provided with a controlling valve 4. The revolving bowl in which the material is delivered and wherein the separation of the valuable from the worthless material takes place, is designated Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1916.

Serial No. 801,489.

8. It is mounted upon a. shaft 5 driven from any suitable source of power, by a belt 9 that engages with a pulley 10 upon the shaft 5. The material to be treated is delivered to the apparatus in any suitable manner, as through a pipe 2. The hub 11 of the bowl, through which the shaft 5 passes, is surrounded by a set of radially or outwardly extending vanes 12. These, as indicated in Fig. 2, are preferably secured to the bottom of the bowl, extending upwardly therefrom at a slight angle to the perpendicular. The spaces between the vanes are quite unobstructed at their outer ends, so that material delivered between them is free to pass outward toward the wall or periphery of the bowl under the influence of centrifugal force. I prefer to employ a concentric feed hopper 18 to which the material to be treated is delivered, by the pipe 2, or otherwise, this hopper being preferably concentric with the bowl and its hub and finally delivering the material just above the vanes and near to their inner ends. The hopper is preferably stationary, being suitably supported in the frame 3.

1% indicates a shield that is concentric with and located between the bowl and the feed hopper 13. It is supported so as to partake of the movements of revolution imparted to the bowl, being preferably flanged at its lower end where it rests upon and is secured to the upper edges of the vanes 12 about midway between their inner and their outer edges. The hub 11 preferably flares outwardly and downwardly as represented in the drawing, and the portion thereof that is immediately above the vanes 12 is of considerable diameter. It thus forms a deflector that operates to positively direct the particles of ore being treated from the axis of rotation of the machine until they come into engagement with the vanes. This insures that all the material to be treated, except perchance the very lightest portions thereof, shall be directly passed into the spaces between the vanes in order that the latter may act thereon and immediately impartto it revolving movements corresponding with those of the bowl.

The bottom of the bowl between its peripheral wall and the outer, free, edges of the vanes 12 is depressed, as represented at 15, and an annular groove or recess 16 is formed in the wall of the bowl at its lower portion, communicating with the said depressed part of the bottom and in the plane thereof. There is thus formed a depression, below the level of the vanes and between them and the periphery of the bowl, into which may settle and collect the nuggets, and values of coarser grade or larger size. Immediately above the depressed portion of the bowl its side wall is substantially vertical, as at 17, and is preferably smooth, so that the material which may be forced against it is not retained but is gradually forced upward by the flow of water and the currents formed by the combined action of the revolving vanes and bowl. Above the vertical portion 17 of the wall it flares outwardly, as indicated at 18. At or near the junction of the portions 17 and 18 of the wall of the bowl there is formed an interior peripheral recess 19, into which is seated a retaining ring 20. The latter is preferably split so that it may be sprung into place within the groove or may be removed therefrom, at pleasure. It is employed to retain the lower edge of a fabric lining, 21, for the inner flaring wall of the bowl. This material is of such nature that it retains the particles of metal and value that come into engagement therewith, and which are caused to pass over and in engagement with it by the centrifugal force imparted to them by the revolving bowl.

The machine thus described is adapted to treat either dry material or material when mixed with water. When operating upon wet material its operation will be as follows: The bowl is rotated at a rapid rate, and material, ore and water, are fed thereto through the pipe 2 until it becomes filled and overflows into the tank or receiver 7. The hopper 13 delivers the material to be treated to the vanes, the concentric shield 14 assisting in this and insuring that practically the entire body of material to be treated shall pass between the vanes in order to have a revolving motion imparted quickly thereto and before it escapes into the bowl. As the material is thrown outwardly by the vanes with considerable force, the particles of relatively large size are projected against the wall 17 of the bowl. If there be nuggets or particles of free gold of any considerable size, they will fall down into the space 15, 16, and be there retained. The balance of the material, water and ore, passes upwardly, a graded separation taking place during such upward movement, the heavier particles finding their way toward the peripheral walls of the bowl, and the lighter particles taking their places nearer the center. By the time the flaring wall 18 of the bowl is reached, the gold and other metallic values will have become largely separated from the worthless mass of material delivered to the apparatus, and, on coming into engagement with the cloth or fabric 21, will become imprisoned in the meshes thereof. This collecting action takes place throughout the entire extent of the flaring wall 18, from the groove 19 to the top edge of the bowl. The speed of revolution of the bowl and the size thereof are so proportional that by the time any given body of material delivered to the machine reaches the top edge of the bowl, practically all of the metallic parts of the ore that are of value will have been brought into engagement with the fabric 21, and by it retained, with the result that substantially all ore will have been recovered, being deposited in the meshes of the fabric 21, or else thrown down into the receiving portions, 15, 16, of the bowl. The

' material that overflows the edge of the bowl is water and the worthless parts of the ore material delivered for treatment. These, either continually or intermittently, are drawn off and discharged through the pipe 6. WVhenever the fabric becomes sufliciently charged with material or so loaded as to become inefficient as a collecting agent, the operation of the machine is stopped, the ring 20 is removed, and the fabric, with its accumulated mass of valuable particles, is removed from the machine. Another fabricwill then be put in place and secured, and the operations described, repeated.

It will be seen that the machine which I have described is very simple in construction and vet is capable of rapid and successful operation.

What I claim is 1. In a centrifugal apparatus for separating the valuable from the worthless parts of fine ore, the combination of a revolving bowl, a series of vanes extending outwardly from the center of the bowl, a chute delivering material to be treated into the bowl directly above the vanes and near their inner ends, a depression for the heavier and larger particles of value located between the outer ends of the vanes and the wall of the bowl and communicating with a collecting groove formed in the wall of the bowl in the plane of the said depression, and means for collecting the lighter particles of value carried by the wall of the bowl and located above the said depression and the groove.

2. In a centrifugal apparatus for separating the valuable from the worthless parts of fine ore, the combination of a revolving bowl, means for quickly imparting to the material to be treated a motion of revolution and for discharging it outwardly, the wall of the bowl opposite the said materialdischarging means being smooth and substantially vertical, below which portion is a collecting groove for the heavier particles of value, and above said smooth portion the wall of the bowl flaring upwardly and outwardly, and a fabric lining removably secured to the said flaring part of the bowl, adapted to collect the fine particles of the ore.

3. In an apparatus for separating and collecting the valuable from the worthless parts of fine ore by centrifugal action, the combination of a revolving collecting vessel having in its lower portion a series of radiating vanes, a central downwardly and outwardly flaring deflector located immediately above the vanes, a feed chute for delivering the material to be treated centrally into the lower part of the said vessel above and around the said deflector, a shield substantially concentric with the deflector and open at its bottom, its lower edge terminating close to the upper edges of the vanes between their inner and their outer ends and its upper edge above the lower open end of the feed chute, and means carried by the vessel for collecting the valuable parts of the ore that are separated by centrifugal action.

JEROME W. SWEET.

Witnesses:

E. V. ROBINSON, W. J. RUsT.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

